Our original intentions last night were to leave Johnny with a babysitter and Brad, Alex and I would go out to see a play together. We would really like to start including Johnny in these trips but past experience has shown that it usually ends up bad for both Johnny and us. Our neighbor kids were in a play of "Disney's 101 Dalmatians". We love supporting the youth in their extra curricular activities and show our kids all these options of what they could be doing some day. The babysitter had a little too much going on that night and so Brad ended up staying home with Johnny and we made it another "girl's night" out. When we got there, we bought a red licorice rope and found two seats in the middle of the room. We unwrapped our treat and she held onto one end while I had the other and Alex made me promise I wouldn't eat any until the play started. We laughed when Cruela bullied Horace and Jasper around, applauded as the puppies all joined in on the song and dance routines, loved it when one of the puppies bit Horace (one of our neighbors was playing Horace) on the rear and congratulated them when it was all over. It was short and sweet but full of lots of laughs, perfect for Alex's attention span. I have to admit I feel a little spoiled being blessed with this little "grown up" girl that I can hang out with at times like these. Last night we got home a little past bedtime and the first thing she did when she went upstairs was she snuck into Johnny's room, gave him a kiss and turned off his reading lamp. She's feeling pretty grown up these day and realizes that her actions are what earns her the right to do things like this with us (especially since she sees that Johnny's actions earn him the right to stay home). Looking forward to many more nights out with my girl. Maybe when she gets older she'll take me out on the town with her once in awhile (here's hoping).
:o)
Disney on Ice came to Boise so Alex and I made a date out of it. First we stopped at Pizza Hut to use her "Book It" coupon she got last month for reading books at home. Then we headed downtown to see which Disney characters would show up on the ice. She was certain her favorite princess, Sleep Beauty, would be there and couldn't wait to see her. We parked a mile away and ran through the biting cold past all of the kids dressed as Princesses, Buz Light Years and Mr. Incredibles (Alex is wondering why she isn't wearing a costume) to the stadium where we purchased our overpriced popcorn and soda and ran past the other overpriced booths of Disney paraphernalia, up two flights of stairs to our balcony seats. I tried to keep Alex's attention away from her popcorn and the cheap (in quality, not in price) crowns all the other girls were wearing and on the characters skating on the ice. She was a little put out that her Dad's favorite princess, Bell, got to skate and sing for two whole songs (they are always in competition over which Disney princess is the best) and just about every other princess made an appearance except for Sleeping Beauty. Near the end as she's resting her head on my lap, trying not to fall asleep because it is way past her bed time, I'm thinking this is a bust and then she looks at me with a big smile on her face and says "Thank you for taking me to Disney on Ice, it's so awesome. You're the best Mom!" Then we skip to the car, make a quick get away before the parking lot gets packed and she passes out in the back seat before we hit the freeway. I realized that she is going to remember the time we spent together and the fun we did have and not remember any of the things that I thought made the night a downer. Thank heavens for the eyes of a child and good memories of us spending time together!
